I watch these shows about how actors got their big breaks and in one episode, they interviewed Sean Connery.  About his Oscar Award-winning role in The Untouchables, Connery said it was the dialogue that appealed to him; it’s not often an actor gets great dialogue.  When you want to attract A-listers like Connery, you not only need a killer story, top-notch characters, but you need fantastic dialogue.

Tarantino is known for juxtaposing mundane reality with extraordinary events.  In Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield head to the address of their next hit and discuss hamburger names in Paris and whether or not it’s extreme for a man to throw another man out a window for giving his woman a foot massage.  It might seem like throw-away dialogue, but not only is it funny, it reveals character and sets the tone for the film.  Here’s some dialogue from that scene:

INT. RECEPTION AREA (APARTMENT BUILDING) – MORNING

Vincent and Jules walk through the reception area and wait for the elevator.

JULES
You remember Antwan Rockamora? Half-
black, half-Samoan, usta call him
Tony Rocky Horror.

VINCENT
Yeah maybe, fat right?

JULES
I wouldn’t go so far as to call the
brother fat. He’s got a weight
problem.  What’s the nigger gonna
do, he’s Samoan.

VINCENT
I think I know who you mean, what
about him?

JULES
Well, Marsellus fucked his ass up
good.  And word around the campfire,
it was on account of Marsellus
Wallace’s wife.

So what makes this killer dialogue?  Let’s break it down.

• Subtext.  The dialogue doesn’t mention that these two men are going to carry out their next hit.  It shows that they’re so practised at killing, they don’t have to discuss it; they already know what they’re going to do when they arrive.
• It’s realistic.  Read it out loud.  It sounds like real people talking.
• It reveals character.  The two of them are clearly friends or have at least known one another a long time; they’re comfortable enough together to share secrets, gossip and speak frankly.  They both know Marsellus.  Obviously, Jules is black and Vincent likes to get to the point.
• It’s entertaining.  Jules says “Marsellus fucked his ass up good” instead of “Marsellus beat him to a pulp”; “word around the campfire” instead of “I heard”, etc..

Read several Oscar-winning screenplays and analyze the dialogue.  What makes it worthy?  Go back to your dialogue.  How can you make it better?

Every word reveals something about your characters so you can’t simply go back to your script and inject a few entertaining words thinking your job is done.  Dialogue comes from character so it shouldn’t be forced or contrived, it should be effortless.

When you have well-crafted characters, the dialogue just flows.  If your dialogue is flat or filled with exposition or all your characters sound the same then you need to go back and build your characters.  Characters always speak from their point of view on the world.  Someone who sees the world as out to get him will usually find something to complain about.

Less is more.  Yes, some of the greatest writers have allowed their characters run on in endless monologues, but you shouldn’t unless you’re Woody Allen.  Until you’re a proven screenwriter, no one will read a script with a two-page monologue.  Cut everything that isn’t necessary.  Ask “does this scene move the story forward?”  The above scene tells us about Marsellus, which is a bit of foreshadowing and these characters are about to make their next hit, so it’s still moving the plot forward.

Try having the characters say everything but what they really want to say.  Most people go to great lengths to avoid confrontation yet so many movies and TV shows have nothing but people confronting one another, lecturing even.  The reason we have so many love stories is because people find it so hard to express their true feelings so we spend endless hours trying to figure out their intentions.  Have your characters hold on to what they really want to say while talking about something different.  It doesn’t have to be in code or metaphor, it can literally be about something totally unrelated.

Ask yourself what the scene is about.  The above Tarantino scene is simply about two hit men preparing to go to their next hit, but the dialogue makes it about something else entirely: two guys gossiping about their boss and how crazy he is.

Eavesdrop on conversations.  How do people talk?  It may sound like everyone talks the same, but listen closely.  What words do they use?  Do they repeat certain words or phrases?  How much do they say at one time?  How much of what they say is boring?  What does their dialogue tell you about them?  Jot down a conversation or two; what lines would you cut if you were to put it in a movie?

Don’t use dialogue to tell us everything that should be revealed through plot.  Characters aren’t there to walk us through the story; we see the story unfold as it happens.  Screenwriting rule #1: show, don’t tell.

We don’t need to know every detail of your characters’ lives either.  Whatever happened before your movie began isn’t important now; live in the moment.   Sure, you might reminisce once in a while or tell a story to a friend, but how often do you and your friends run over one anothers’ backstories?

One last thing.  Don’t confuse one-liners with great dialogue.  Memorable lines like “I’ll be back” isn’t great dialogue.  It’s a simple, standard ordinary line anyone would say at any random time in life, but Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered it in such a way that made it memorable.  If you’re relying on actors to bring your words to glory, you’re in for a big let-down.  Have your script read by working actors and you’ll see what I mean.  Great actors have to work ten times harder to make bad dialogue work.